Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP):
Is it Right for You?

After reviewing a well-documented history of proven and efficacious medical applications, Women’s Wellness Center is pleased to offer our patients Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) skin treatment to help address skin challenges resulting from skin issues such as:

• natural aging and wrinkles
• crow’s feet
• bags and dark circles under your eyes
• stretch marks and stretch lines
• acne scaring
• premature hair loss

PRP works by effectively leveraging elements drawn from your own blood that, when concentrated and guided under the surface of your skin, act to accelerate your body’s natural ability to heal skin cells in a safe, timely, manner.

Also known as a “Vampire Facial” and PRP, Platelet Rich Plasma is considered a medical treatment as opposed to a cosmetic skin treatment. Despite the nickname, PRP is a minimally invasive treatment in which a concentrated serum derived from a sample of your own blood is either allowed to seep into your skin through channels created by microneedling or, alternatively, gently injected under your skin. In either case, the platelet rich serum acts to stimulate your skin’s natural growth and healing abilities.

Use with microneedling is the most common PRP application. When combined with our microneedling treatment, PRP acts to quickly and richly promote your body’s natural collagen production and cell reproduction.

Quite simply, PRP is a way to maximize your own body’s powers on behalf of a better you.

PRP, or the Vampire Facial, enables you to have smoother, plumper, and more youthful looking skin.

What’s So Special About Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and How Does PRP Help Rejuvenate Your Body?

The blood coursing through your body is an evolutionary wonder. Blood is comprised of four key elements: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma, each critical to the overall well-being of our bodies. Of the four blood elements, plasma is responsible for moving hormones, nutrients, and proteins throughout your body. Assigned to carry out the body’s never ending transportation responsibilities, plasma takes up over 50% of blood content. Platelets are carried to and fro by the blood’s plasma. Produced from our bone marrow, the platelets are cells responsible for binding in response to cell injury.

PRP acts to take the best of this evolutionary wonder and applies it to the rejuvenation of our skin. How? By drawing from a sample of your own blood, platelet rich plasma is created in the form of a concentrated solution in our medical office. The PRP generation procedure is remarkably simple and graceful.

To create your unique PRP, we draw a modest amount of blood from you on the day of your treatment, place it in a sterile and disposable container, and then spin the sample container within our centrifuge. The spinning centrifuge separates the platelets within your blood. The result is a concentrated serum we call platelet-rich plasma (a.k.a. PRP). The result is a concentrated healing serum drawn from your own body!

We apply PRP in one of two ways. Your unique PRP is either spread over your skin during a microneedling procedure or injected directly under the skin.

Like PRP, microneedling is a natural treatment selected for patient efficacy by Women’s Wellness Center. The treatment applies a sterile needling device to create thousands of tiny, superficial punctures over the surface of your skin. These micro-punctures act to channel the applied PRP serum deep into your skin.

Alternatively PRP may be injected directly under the surface of your skin.

Regardless of application regime, PRP promotes cell turnover which stimulates increased production of your body’s natural collagen and elastin.

The result is skin appearing fuller, smoother, and tighter.

The result is the best version of you, divined from your body’s existing and concentrated healing powers.

Who May Best Benefit from PRP?

As a physician, I work with patients to determine the best way to rejuvenate your skin’s specific needs. We’re all different, so together we will determine if PRP will benefit you and your skin challenges. Drawing from treatment history, we understand PRP helps with the following skin issues.

• Surface wrinkles, skin sagging, fine lines, or skin creases resulting from the erosion of natural collagen under your skin
• Crow’s feet wrinkles forming around your eyes when you squint
• Horizontal forehead wrinkles such as wrinkles when you raise your eyebrows
• The “11”” vertical worry line or frown line forming a crease or furrow between eyebrows
• Surface skin injury marks
• Acne rosacea and acne scarring
• Auto-immune condition lichen sclerosus
• Sufferers of premature balding and hair loss

Together, we’ll determine if PRP matches your goals. Should PRP be a match for you, we’ll weigh goals and options to select from either direct injection or a combination with an FDA-cleared microneedling procedure. We’re all unique, and so are the needs of our skin.

That’s why Women’s Wellness Center works directly with you in care of your total wellbeing.

Not Everyone is a Candidate for PRP Treatment

Because PRP applies the palettes derived from your own body, the treatment is safe for most everyone. That said, PRP is not for all of us. If you have had or are experiencing any of the below issues, I’m afraid PRP will likely not match your needs.

• Those with clotting conditions or those requiring blood thinners
• Individuals with blood-related health issues
• Patients with low platelet levels and/or low hemoglobin counts
• Sufferers of liver disease
• Those with skin infections or existing infections at or around the treatment site
• Those experiencing recent fever or illness
• Excessive drinkers
• Excessive smokers

At Women’s Wellness Center, we will review your needs and medical history to determine the treatment right for you.

When Will I See Results and How Many PRP Treatments Might I Expect?

With three weeks of your PRP treatment, you may expect to see results in the form of smoother, plumper, and even more youthfully appearing skin.

As a PRP patient myself, I can share a spoiler; the results are a true treat!

Though some patients require only one treatment, a regime of three treatment sessions is the norm with treatments usually scheduled four to six weeks apart.

You may expect the results of your PRP treatment to last for four to six months. Patients often return for a renewed cycle at or about the passing of six months.

Women’s Wellness Center is focused on your overall wellbeing. We’ll work with you to determine an ideal regiment matching your unique skin improvement needs and goals.

PRP’s Recovery and Modest Downtime

Though generally quite quick, recovery time is unique to each patient as recovery depends on your body’s response to treatment. In general, following treatment, you will be able to drive and conduct routine day to day activities. Potential tenderness and slight bruising may appear for about a week after treatment.

As you move complete each PRP treatment session, we suggest you plan for the following: plan for two to three hours of potential soreness and possible inflammation of the treated area, avoid taking anti-inflammatories such as aspirin or ibuprofen immediately following your treatment, skip the makeup, creams, or lotions for eight hours, wait six or so hours prior to showering (due to the varying water temperatures), avoid aggressive exercise or activities, and hold off on alcohol and cigarettes for three days.

Potential PRP Side Effects

Because PRP applies elements from your own body, your body recognizes these platelets so side effects are rare. The most likely side effects are skin discomfort, bruising, swelling, or modest pain. In rare cases, clotting might occur and nerve or tissue damage has been noted. With any penetration of the skin there exists a risk of infection, though our treatment regime diminishes such a risk. Those risks respectfully noted, in general, you should expect a bit of skin tenderness at the point of treatment.